Albion College Forms Nursing Partnership With Oakland University

The agreement provides flexible opportunities for students entering the nursing field.

August 26, 2021

Albion College, one of the top 50 innovative liberal arts colleges in the country, announced today a unique partnership with Oakland University, facilitating the enrollment process of Albion students into the B.S.N. Program at Oakland University School of Nursing. The agreement allows students to pursue a comprehensive education surrounding the nursing field while offering maximum assurance of admissions and a smooth transition of enrollment. Albion College President Dr. Mathew Johnson made the announcement.

The agreement allows up to five students per year to begin their nursing education at Albion College before completing their B.S.N. at Oakland University. Students will enroll at Albion for two years, receiving the benefits of a broad liberal arts education and completing non-clinical nursing coursework. “We are pleased to have these innovative articulations that open opportunities for students to meet their educational goals to become a BSN-prepared nurse,” said Dr. Judy Didion, dean of the Oakland University School of Nursing.

At Oakland, students will take advantage of a diverse range of clinical experiences throughout Southeastern Michigan, and will learn how to develop, implement, and evaluate patient-centered nursing care. This new agreement builds off Albion and Oakland’s long-standing partnership, which allows Albion College students to matriculate into Oakland’s Accelerated Second-Degree B.S.N. track after graduation.

“With the continuing evolution of the medical field and rising demand for medical professionals, higher education institutions are focusing on implementing flexible educational opportunities,” said Dr. Bradley Rabquer, associate professor and director of the Lisa and James Wilson Institute of Medicine. “Allowing students to expedite degree completion while gaining the knowledge and confidence to pursue their purpose in healthcare and support the community is our highest priority as educators. Albion College holds student support efforts at the forefront by providing an atmosphere and advisory staff that reflects this core responsibility. We are eager to build on this partnership with Oakland University to enhance student academic opportunities.”

Part of the School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement, the Lisa and James Wilson Institute for Medicine is a national leader in premedical education. It prepares students for careers in healthcare through an innovative academic curriculum and experiential learning opportunities in clinical, research, and community settings. As a result, 96% of Albion College students from the Wilson Institute that have applied to medical school over the past eight years have been accepted. The new partnership with Oakland University is one of several created over the past years to facilitate a smooth transition from undergraduate to graduate and professional study. Most recently, Albion College and Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) partnered to develop a novel pathway to medical school directly out of high school.

Albion College centers its curriculum around active and experiential learning, preparing the next generation of leaders not only to succeed in the world but to shape it. The School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement, established earlier this spring, prepares students for lives of purpose, career success, and graduate or professional school through stackable professional credentials; career development and community engagement; and real-world learning environments, including the college’s institutes and centers, a student-run consulting firm and a social innovation incubator.

For more information on the nursing partnership, contact the Wilson Institute.

About Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college of approximately 1,500 students and is nationally recognized for its academic excellence in the liberal arts tradition, a learning-centered commitment and a future-oriented perspective. The College is a leader in preparing students to anticipate, solve and prevent problems in order to improve the human and global condition. Albion immerses students in the creation and processing of knowledge and graduates skilled architects of societal change, active citizens and future leaders. The College is dedicated to the highest quality in undergraduate education and is committed to diversity as a core institutional value.

Albion, Michigan is a culturally diverse community in the south-central part of the state. The College recognizes the value of community, both on- and off-campus and has invested resources in supporting the revitalization of the greater Albion community. This work offers an increasingly vibrant city around the campus that provides students with a fuller experience as they prepare to become engaged citizens in their own communities. For more information, visit albion.edu.

About Oakland University
Oakland University is a doctoral, Carnegie Classification R2 “High Research Activity” university located in Oakland and Macomb counties, Michigan. The main campus is located on 1,443 acres of scenic land in the Southeast Michigan cities of Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills. Oakland University offers bachelor’s degrees, graduate degrees and certificate programs. Oakland University is organized into the College of Arts and Sciences (which includes a School of Music, Theatre and Dance), the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and the Schools of Business Administration, Education and Human Services, Engineering and Computer Science, Health Sciences, Nursing, and The Honors College. Learn more at www.oakland.edu.